One in ten American college students joins a fraternity or sorority, and Greek social organizations produce a disproportionately large percentage of power brokers in business and politics. Statistics show that while these future leaders are on campus, they are much more likely than non-Greek students to engage in binge drinking and to be either the perpetrators or victims of sexual assault. In Inside Greek U., Alan D. DeSantis takes an in-depth look at the lessons that Greek organizations teach their members about gender, drawing on evidence gathered in hundreds of focus-group sessions and personal interviews and from his years of experience as a Greek faculty advisor. Inside Greek U reveals a Greek culture that imbues its members with the sense that "real men" must be unemotional, promiscuous, violent, and aggressively masculine, while "nice girls" should be nurturing, passive, domestic, and purely feminine. These rigid formulations contribute to maladaptive behaviors and beliefs, such as eating disorders, body image distortions, homophobia, and date rape and other sexual misconduct. Inside Greek U. aims to reform the Greek system rather than tear it down or sanction contempt for its members. DeSantis identifies narrow definitions of gender that impede Greek students' intellectual and emotional development and seeks to broaden these definitions, thereby expanding the range of acceptable choices available to fraternity and sorority members before and after graduation.

About the Author
Alan D. DeSantis is professor of communications at the University of Kentucky. He has published numerous journal articles in publications such as Health Communication, the International Journal of Refugee Studies, and the Journal of Communication and Religion.

Reviews
This book is unique, provocative, troubling, and will stimulate quite a bit of conversation. It is a snapshot of four important years in the lives of those who may one day become the business, political, and legal leaders of our nation. - Cindy L. Griffin, coauthor of Feminist Rhetorical Theories ""No other book treats the Greek system as fully. It is at once critical and sympathetic, showing an unparalleled understanding of perspectives of the young men and women in the Greek system."" - Scott F. Kiesling, coeditor of Intercultural Discourse and Communication: The Essential Readings ""Alan DeSantis has uncovered behavior that adds to the growing evidence of troubling flaws in the American understanding of masculinity and the concomitant injustices associated with the performance of masculinity/femininity in elitist fraternity/sorority settings."" - Peggy Reeves Sanday, author of Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus



Book Information
ISBN 9780813124681
Author Alan D. DeSantis
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint The University Press of Kentucky
Publisher The University Press of Kentucky